Nijmegen: Kops Plateau

The Kops Plateau or Kopse Hof, in eastern Nijmegen (satellite
photo; map),
was the site of a Roman fort that was founded during Drusus' campaigns
across the Rhine (12-9 BCE), and was destroyed during the Batavian
Revolt (70 CE). It was close to the great legionary base at the
Hunerberg. Both military settlements were build on an ice-pushed ridge, a
safe and dry location near the river Waal, the main distribuary branch
of the Rhine.

First phase (c.12 BCE - c.10 CE)

The fort was founded when the Roman
prince
Drusus tried to conquer the valleys of the Main and Lippe, east of the
Rhine. The Greek-Roman author Cassius
Dio
seems to imply that the Batavian territories had already been pacified
before the first campaign started in 12 BCE, because Drusus could pass
by the Batavians (Roman History,
54.32).
However, the same line suggests that Nijmegen was the node of that year's dual
operation: first, an attack on the Usipetes and Sugambri, followed by a return to the starting point and an expedition to the
Frisians. That Nijmegen was the place where the two operations were
coordinated, is not illogical.

The praetorium, the mansion of the commander of the fort at the Kops Plateau,
was splendid. It measured about 2000 square meter (60x35 meter) and
looked like the villas of Italy. Archaeologists were able to
establish that the rooms west of the little court were used for
official meetings, while the eastern rooms served as the commander's private
rooms. The immense luxury can best be illustrated by the garbage dump
that appeared to contain the remains of one single diner: except for a
large cauldron, a lot of pots and -oddly- some coins, the bones of about two hundred fishes
(carp, eel, pike, tench, bream, perch, mackerel from Spain), duck,
beef, hare, sucking pig, chicken, barley, lentils, and olives. This was
a meal fit for a prince, even though we do not know whether he was
Drusus,
Tiberius, or a more distant member of the imperial family like Varus.

Nor do we know whether he lived there or was an occasional
visitor; if the Kops Plateau was not the site of the HQs of the Rhine
army, it may have been the residence of another important official,
like the prefect or another high-ranking man
responsible for the ties between Rome and the Batavians, or it may have been some sort
of "house of Batavo-Roman friendship".

The fort was surrounded by a double ditch. Traces of the pebble pavement of the two main roads have been found, yhe principia
(the HQs of the fort itself) and a granary have been identified,
but there appear to have been no barracks within the walls. The stables were to the
south of the fort, outside the walls. here must have stood the horse of Titus Ussus, the eques mentioned on a badly legible sherd that suggests that legionaries
of I
Germanica in this time belonged to the garrison of Nijmegen.

Second phase (c.10-c.40)

After
the Roman defeat in the battle
in the Teutoburg Forest
(September 9 CE), the legions and
auxiliary units were redeployed. Drusus' son Germanicus
was responsible for several retaliatory attacks and must have been in
Nijmegen, where several temporary bases have been identified that must
have offered accomodation to the large armies that invaded Germany in
14-16.

The Kops Plateau fort started to have a function as a normal
fort: it was expanded to the south to accomodate more people. Although
it now measured about 300 x 250
meter, it covered about five hectare, becausee it was not a normal,
square fort.
The walls were rebuilt, except for the northern side, which was left
open; given the fact that it was almost impossible to climb to the
fort, this was less dangerous than it seems. After Germanicus'
operations, the Hunerberg fortress was evacuated, leaving the Kops
Plateau as the main military settlement near Nijmegen.

Third phase (c.40-69)

The fort was redesigned in c.40. Again, this had something to do with
the redeployment of Roman troops. The emperor Caligula (a son of Germanicus) waged war
against the Chatti and appears to have had plans to cross over to
Britain; in these years, he visited Germania Inferior and appears to
have initiated the defensive strategy that is commonly known as the
limes - the construction of permanent forts and watchtowers dates back
to the early forties. At this time, the Kops Plateau became the home of
a cavalry unit, probably the Ala I Batavorum.

The southern border of the fort was moved a bit to the north, inside
the old double ditch of the first building phase. The cemetery of the
fort was discovered a bit to the south of the Kops Plateau, at the
Kruisweg. All graves can be dated after 50, and it is remarkable that
no urns were found. The bodies were cremated completely, and buried
with the wood. Because the citizens of Batavodurum used urns to bury
their dead, the conclusion seems inevitable that soldiers received a
different type of cremation.

The end of the fort at the Kops Plateau was abrupt. In 69, a Batavian
leader named Julius Civilis revolted. The Roman officer Aquilius was able to
organize the withdrawal of the Roman troops from the Rhineland (a silver
medal with his name was found at the Kops Plateau), and an army was
sent to the northwest to suppress the rebellion. However, when the
battle started, the Batavian cavalry in the Roman army, led by one
Claudius Labeo, switched sides and started to support the rebels
(Tacitus, Histories, 4.18).
It can not be proved that Labeo was the commander of the unit at the
Kops Plateau, but it is plausible, and the defection of the unit explains why its fort was
not destroyed - the only fort in Germania Inferior without burning
layer. Later, the unit was defeated by the Romans, and when the legions
restored order in the Nijmegen area, they found the fort empty.

Fourth phase (after 70)

The fort was never used again, but to the east of it, a cemetery has
been found. No graves were discovered within the walls of the former
fort, though, suggesting that it was still recognizable as a military site.

The Kops Plateau was identified as a major archaeological site in 1914,
and the first excavations lasted until 1921. It was believed
to be the Oppidum Batavorum mentioned by Tacitus; in the seventies, however, it was shown that this
settlement was in the center of modern Nijmegen. After excavations in
1986-1995, archaeologists understood that the Kops Plateau was a
fort of an unusual type.

During the 1991 excavations, two cavalry helmets were excavated; both
can be dated to the middle of the first century; a third helmet had
already been found (at an unknown site) in the nineteenth century. They
are of different
types. Onhe helmet on the second photo below, the part that
protects the face is
attached to the helmet itself by a bolt; the third one has two
hinges, while the first one has one hinge. All helmets have traces of
silver.

Edge of Empire. The book Arjen Bosman and I wrote about Rome's Lower Rhine Frontier (order; review)